Hear Glen Campbell Sing Elvis’ ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’ for New ‘Sings for the King’ Album

A collection of songs Glen Campbell originally recorded as a demo singer for Elvis Presley to hear will soon see the light of day, as the lost album Sings for the King will be released November 16th via Capitol/UMe.

In the years between 1964 and 1968, during which he’d score his first hits as a solo artist, Campbell recorded studio versions of songs written with Presley as the intended artist, as he could skillfully imitate Presley’s delivery. Many of those songs were penned by songwriters Ben Weisman and Sid Wayne, with Weisman notably scoring a record 57 total cuts with Presley. The album’s executive producer Stephen Auerbach found reel-to-reel tapes containing the recordings of Weisman and Wayne’s songs in a storage space belonging to Weisman, his uncle by marriage.

Of the 18 songs on the new release, 12 were actually recorded and released by Presley, including “Stay Away Joe,” “Spinout” and “Easy Come, Easy Go,” the lost Campbell version of which is available for streaming now. Sings for the King also includes the gospel song “We Call on Him,” newly rendered as a duet between Campbell and Presley.

Campbell and Presley met in 1956, when Campbell was living and performing in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Later, Campbell would become a member of the studio group the Wrecking Crew, playing on hundreds of sessions that included his one Presley session for the Viva Las Vegas soundtrack. By 1967, Campbell had broken out as a solo artist, releasing the hit albums Gentle on My Mind and By the Time I Get to Phoenix and launching an extended run of musical and television success. All told, he sold over 45 million albums and landed 80 songs on several different charts. In 2017, he died at age 81 due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease.